Letter-box



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

DO. MOOARROLL &R. M. SEIB LETTER Box.

Patented Feb. 16,' 1897.

I n L (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

D. C. MGGARROLL & R. M. SEIB LETTER Box.

Patented Feb 16, 1897.

UNITED STATES DAVID o. hit-:CARRQLL nn PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD M. SEIBEL, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURL LETTER-BOX.

SPEGIFIOATIOHforminQ part of Letters Patent No. 577,368, dated February 16, 1897.

A pplication filed December 17,1896. Serial No. 6 16324.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, DAVID C. MCCARROLL and- RICHARD M. SEIBEL, citizens of the United States, and residents of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street Letter-Boxes and we do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, a

such as will enable others to make and use the same, reference being had to the accom panying-drawings,forminga part of this specification.

The objectof ourinvention is an improvement in that class of letter boxes designed more especially for the collection and delivery of letters and ordinary mail taken from the boxes by carriers, and has for its purpose,

first, to prevent the ingress of water within the box and facilitate the deposit of letters;

" second, to enable a rapid delivery from the and, fifth, to prevent corrosion of 'spective of the improved letter-box.-

box'to the pouch of the carrier by the gravi-- cation of the mail-matter; third, to shield the lock upon the box from being incased by ice or snow';' fourth, to guard against the unauthorized removal of the box from its support, the display or time card upon the front of thebox.

Our invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, such as will first be fully described, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in per- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the improved-'letter-box. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view Of-th'e letter-box, taken upon the'line X X of Fig. 2 and showing the support for the box, the yoke connecting the box and support being in section,- Fig. 4 is'a horizontal sectional View of the box and its support, taken upon the line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a de tail view in perspective of .the safety attachment forsecuring the box to its support. Fig. 6 is a broken detail perspective view of the front of the box and the upper part of the ,hinged bottom, showing the lug and staple (No model-l holder, showing the time-card and the trans parent-front plate and the dished back plate.

Fig. Sis a detail sectional view ofthe lower the box, and a'rthe back of the box.

- 0. represents-one end'and a the other end of the box. The end a which is vertical in position, consists of a smooth fiat plate, the upper end of which extends above the. upper edges of the respective front and back plates and describes a single upwardly-curved line extending from the horizontal edge' of the front plate a to the horizontal edge of the back plate a. The rear edge portion a of the end a? extends downwardly and in a slight degree inclined outwardly at an angle to the front side of the box and at a point about two.- thirds of the described distance from the upper portion of the end a to the lower portion of the said end.

which for the purposes The rear edge of saidend,

is made to-desoribe a single curved line ex? tending downwardly nearly to the lowerex-' tremity of the said side and to a point alrequidistant from the front and rear lines of the opposite edges of said end 01. the lower extremity of said end extends in a at which point direct line to the forward edge of the said end, and also inclined downwardly at a slight. 7 angle of inclination to said forward edge, The

forward edge a of the end a extends from f the upper horizontal edge of the front side a downwardly in a vertical line toa point nearly upon the same horizontal line extended through the point a upon the rear edge of the end a at which point the edge of the said side is extended forwardly in a curved line,

as at a, and projected a short distancebeyond the upper line of said edge, and thence said edge portion extends ina downward di-v rection to the extremity of the said end of 'the of the front side aof the box.

low the upper edge of the said front a is in- -the curve extending to the point :1 upon the The other end, a of the box is made described of the box. precisely in "the manner end a The front side a of the box extends downwardly to the point a described upon the forward edge of the end a, and its lower edge curved outwardly, as at a in line with the said curved portion a of said edge. The back a of the box extends downwardly in exact alinement with the rear edge a of the end a, curving inwardly from the point a and terminating at the point a? at the extremity of the rear edge of said end a The edge portion a at the intersection of the front side a and end a is curved outwardly, as seen in horizontal section in Fig. 4, and the lines of said curved portion in extending downwardly terminate in the single curved line at a, at which point the front side of the box projects outwardly, as at a before described. The forward edge of the end a is constructed in the same mannenas the edge a and the rear edges of the box are also curved outwardly,

said end 03.

The topa of the box consists of a single plate extending from the front plate a and projecting outwardly a shortdistance beyond the said plate, and thence in a single upwardly-curved line to the upper edge of the back a etthe box and a short distance-be yond said edge portion, said top portion being also extended over the upper curved edges of the respective ends a a and conforming to the uppercurved portion of said end, and also projecting a considerable distance beyond the outer side portions of said ends at each end of the box. Upon the under side portion of the top a is a flange a, which extends downwardly a short distance and upon the outer surface of the upper end Upon the inner side of the box and a short distance be serted a screwa, (see Fig. 3,) which extends into a screw-threaded opening a in the flange a a considerable distance. The flange a also extends from the top on externally around the back and end portions of the box, and is secured at suitable points by screws inserted as described of the screw a.

In the end a ofthe box and a short distance below the described lines of the upper ends of the front a and backa of the box is the horizontal opening a, which is of the usual width for the passage of letters, &c. Above the" upper edge of the opening a the portion ofthe plate forming said upper edge is projected' outwardly from the line of the inner surface of said end in a downwardlycurved line, as at a", the sides a of said Iprojection extending at right angles to the Upon the inner side of box, within the opening a, is the drop-valve B. Said valve extends from the inner porthe end aF of the tion of the one side of projection a" to the other side. At one end and upon the upper side of the valve B is a forwardly'extended lug b, (see Fig. 3,) which is pivotally attached to one of the sides a of the projection a, and at the other end of said valve and upper edge portion is 2 lug b, which is the same as lug b, and pivotally attached to the other side of the projection a". The lower edge of the valve extends nearly to the lower edge of the opening a. On the inner side of the end a of the box, directly in line with the lower edge of the opening a, is a plate a, cast with the end of the box and extending the length of the opening a. The upper surface of the plate a extends rearwardly and upwardly a short distance from said edge of the opening a and describes a single curved line in the arc of the circle described by the lower end of plate B.

C is the bottom of the box, which consists of a plate extending from the inner side portion of the curved lower edge portion a of the front side a of the box downwardly and inclined rearwardly to a position at the described point 7 a at the extremity of the rear edge portion of the respective ends a a of the box, at which point and upon the inner side portion is a lug 03 and directly opposite the lug (1., upon the inner side of the end a", is a lug a, both of which lugs the lower edge of the bottom 0 of the box is a round casting c of the same diameter as the lugs a, which fits between the opposing ends of the respective lugs and is pivotally connected with said lugs. The lower edge of the back a is provided with a curved depression a, in which is the casting c. The bottom 0 of the box also extends from the inner side of the end a? to the inner side of the enda, and in the upper part of said bottom at a point equidistant from said ends is a slot 0'.

Upon the under side portion of the curved lower end of the front a of the box and a short distance on side of the outer edge a is a downwardly-extended flange a, which is also inclined inwardly and in the direction of the pivotal portion of the bottom 0 and extends from the inner side of end a to the inner side of the end a", and upon the outer side of said flange opposite the slot 0' on the bottom 0 is a staple a, which extends through the said slot, and with said staple is connected an ordinary padlock D. Directly above the padlock and upon the upper side of the curved extension 0, of the front a of the box are cast the lugs a a, to which is pivoted the upper end portion of the lock-shield E. Said shield is composed of a narrow plate slightly wider than the padlock, upon the upper edge of which is the neck 6-, extending between lugs 61, a the lower part being considerably wider than the neck and its lower edge inclined downwardly and extended inwardly in the di rection of the inclined bottom 0 of the box.

In a curved line on the inner side of the shield are round in shape and fit closely the lower edge of the back a of the box. Upon Upon the other side of the shield-is a flange e extending the same described distance and direction as the flange e. From the inner side of the said shield 'at a position directly be-' neath the curved extension a of the front a of the box is connected a plate a, which is inclined. in an upward direction from the said shield and extends in a transverse direction to the shield above the respective flanges 6 e Upon theinner side and lower end portion of the endo of the box is a flange (1 extending at right angles to said box and from the pivotal point of the bottom 0 to the forward edge of the said end of the box.- Upon the lower end portion and inner side of the end a is a flange 0e 9, which is the same as flange 60 Upon the outer surface of the front a of the box is connected by the screws f f in flanges f f a time-card frame F, upon the inner surface of .which is a groove or depression f extending entirely around the sides and ends of the'frame. In the groove f t is placed a thin sheet of celluloid or other transparent material, which is the same size as the frameFwithin the groove f Between the celluloid sheet f and the side of I the box is placed the time-card f, it being of the same dimensions as sheet f Between the time-card f and the outer surface of the side a of the box is a plate 1", which is cupped or depressed at the center of the plate, the outer edges being warped forward, as at f, away from the outersu'rface of the front of the box .and caused to bear against the time-card. g

G represents a post supporting the box,

a which is ordinarily employed at the corners of streets. I H represents a hollow rectangular-shaped casting or base-plate, in the back of which is a curved depression h, which is made to receive the curved surface of the post or support G. Between the outer sides of the hollow casting are cast separate partitions k h which are arranged at equal distance from each other and the respective sides of the casting;

In the back a of the letter-box A is a rectangular-shaped depression a which extends beyond the surface of the outer side of ,the back a at a point equidistant from the opposite ends of said box and a short distance downwardly from the top of the said box, which depression is made to fit within the hollow casting H between the partitions it it Around the support G is extended a yoke or strap 7t, both ends of which are screw-threaded. One end of the strap is inserted through an opening k on the back of the casting H between one side of the casting H and the partition h and within the base-plate or casting is fitted with a'nut h. The other end of the strap, extends through an opening it in the back of the casting between the outer side portion and the partition 7: and fitted with a nut h In the depression a is an' opening of,

through which is inserted a screw-bolt a,

which enters a screw-threaded opening k the back of the casting H. Beneath the casting H is a casting H, which is constructed precisely the same as the casting H, and upon the letter-box is an outward depression,which is fitted within the casting and secured thereto from within the box in precisely the 'same manner as described of thecasting H..

In placing letters within the box the valve B is raised a sufficient height-by the letters and pass flatwisethrough the opening a, and

in falling to the'bottom of the box have'a tendency to turn once and dispose themselves in position flatwise against the bottom 0. The inner surface of the letter-box being free from all obstructions, as clearly shown, and

the internal breadth of'the box in the direction of the bottom being, greater at the point through the box upon a line drawn through the points a a", the liability of the letters striking the sides of the box is lessened, and

in meeting the curved portion of the back of sition to the inner edge of the plate a, and

thus away from the moisture upon the outside of the box.

- In the collection of the letters the shield E is raised in position, exposing the padlock D. The mail-pouch is placed in position by the carrier directly opposite the hinged bottom 0 and the padlock removed, permitting the hinged bottom to fallwith its accumulation of letters into the open pouch. The ends of the box which extend on each side of the bottom 0 beyond the opening prevent the letters from fallingto the ground. It will be observed'that the inclination of the bottom 0 is over the surface of the plate a, and thence IIO such as'to form a chute and permit the letters by gravitation to discharge themselves into the pouch and at the same time the interior of the box is disclosed to enable the carrier to inspect the box. When the bottom is raised in position and locked, the shield is lowered in position, as seen in Fig. 1, while during the operation of removing the letters it remains in the position in which itis placed, as seen in dotted lines, Fig. 3. In the position as seen in Fig. l the water collecting upon the surface of the front of the box and-running down'between the lugs a a? falls upon the upper surface of the plate e and is discharged upon each side of the shield, thus protecting the padlock In cold climates the ice and snow are therefore kept from the padlook. In order to protect the time-card f from the water which ordinarily finds entrance between the card and the outer surface of the box, the plate 1" is curved in such a manner as to remove nearly all parts of the plate from contact with the box except at the bearing-point, the water thus passing between the plate and the box, preventing corrosion of. the plate and injury to the time-card.

In securing the box to its support it will be observed that the casting H and its strap forward as the lines of the front edges of the ends of the box, if preferred, and the curved inclination of the back of the box extended to the forward edges, as described, with such other modifications as will readily occur without departing from our invention.

Having fully described our invention, what we now claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a letter-box having an opening for the passage of the letters, &c., a valve normally closing said opening and pivoted at its upper edge so as to be moved inwardly by the pressure of the letter, a plate upon the inner side of said box below the opening having its upper surface in a single curved line struck from the pivot-point of said valve, and extending rearwardly and upwardly, as and for the purpose described.

2. In a letter-box having an opening for the passage of the letters, &c., a pivotal wedgeshaped valve closing said opening, and a plate upon the inner side of said box having its upper surface in a single curved line struck from the pivotal point of said valve and extending rearward ly and upwardly, the larger end of said wedge-shaped valve) fitting said curve, as and for the purpose described.

In a letter-box having a discharge-opening, a cover for said opening, the ends of the said box extending beyond said cover to form a discharge-chute for the contents of the box.

4. In a letter-box for the collectionand delivery of letters having an opening for the discharge of said letters, a hinged cover for said opening, the ends of said box extending beyond the cover when closed, in such manner that said bottom when opened out and said ends form a continuous chute for the dis-- charge of the contents of the box.

5. In a letter-box for the collection and delivery of letters,havin g an opening for the discharge of said letters extending through the bottom, and the lower portion of the front side of said box, and a bottom to said box hinged at one end to the lower end portion of the back of said box, and extending up between the ends and secured to the front side of said box in such manner that said bottom when opened out, and said sides, form a continuous chute for the discharge of the contents of the box.

6. In a letter-box for the collection and delivery of letters having an opening for the discharge of the contents of the box, extending through the lower' end of the box and the lower portion of the front side of the box, and a bottom formed by a valve or covering for said opening hinged at one end to the lower portion of the back of the box, and extending up between the ends and secured to the front side of said box, lowered it combines with 'an incline in the back of said box extending from said point of hinge to a point of contact with the perpendicular line of the back of said box, so as to form a continuous and easy slide or descent for the contents of the box from said point of contact down to the extreme lower part of said opening or point of discharge, the contents of the box being facilitated in the discharge by reason of said incline employed in combination with the slide formed by said valve or covering when lowered, so as to form a downward incline from said point of hinge to said point of discharge, as and for the purpose described.

7. In a letter-box for the collection and delivery of letters,havin g an opening for the discharge of the contents of the box, extending through the lower end of the box and the lower portion of the front side of the box, and a bottom formed by a valve or covering for said opening, hinged at one end to the lower portion of the back of the box, and extending up between the ends and secured to the front side of said box, in such manner that when lowered it combines with a curvature in the lower end of the back of said box, so as to form a continuous and easy slide or descent for the contents of the box from a point of contact in the perpendicular line of the back of the box, with said curvature down to the extreme lower part of said opening or point in such manner that when of discharge, the contents of the box being facilitated in the discharge by reason of said curvature employed in combination with the slide formed by said valve or covering when lowered so as to form a downward incline from said point of binge to the said point of discharge, as and for the purposes described.

8. A letter-box for the collection and delivcry of letters, &c., having its lower discharging end portion composed of the opposite lower portions of the" ends of said box, and the lower end portions of the respective front side and back of the box inclined at an angle to and meeting each other, said bottom or lower end portion of the front side being separableand hinged at the rear end to the lower portion of the back of the box, as and for the purpose described.

9. A letter-box for the collection and delivcry of letters, &c., having its lower-discharging end portion composed of the opposite lower portions of the ends of saidbox, and the lower end portion of the respective front side and back of the box inclined at an angleto and meeting eachother, said-lower end portion of the front side being separable-and hinged at the rear end to the lower portion of the back of the box, and extending up between the ends and secured to the front side of said box in such manner that said bottom, when opened out, and said sides form a continuous chute for the discharge of the con- I tents of the box, as and for the purposes de- 15 scribed. v

10. In a letter-box for the collection anddelivery of letters, &c., having upright ends and an opening in the bottom and lower portion of the front side, a bottom to said box hinged at one end to the lower portion'of the back of said box and extending between the ends of the box and secured to the front side of the box at the other end and flanges on the inner side and lower end portion of said ends of the box inclined, for the purpose described.

11. The combination with aletter-box of a frame for time-cards, and means acting upon the edges of' the card for securing the timecard in the frame out of con tact with the box,

' whereby discoloration of the time-card is prevented, substantially as described.

- 12. The combination with a letter-box of a frame for time-cards provided witha groove upon its inner surface, and means acting at the edges of the time-card to press the card away from the box and against the outer wall of the groove, whereby discoloration of the time-card is prevented, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a letterbox of a frame for time-cards provided with a groove upon its inner surface, a curved plate arranged between the side of the box and the time-card'and engaging the card at its edges only, substantially as described.

14:. The combination with a letter-box and its support, of a base-plate, means .for securing the base-plate to the support and a screw for securing the box to the base-plate in such manner as to protect its securing means, substantially as and for the purpose described.

15. The combination with a letter-box and its support, of a strap for securing the letterbox to the support, a base-plate having openings in the back for the ends of the strap, and

fastening devices upon said ends, and a screw for secnringthe letter-box to the base-plate 16. The combination witha letter-box havin g outward extensions extending beyond the outer surface of the said back, of a support for said box and a screw and strap, and a hollow base-plate adapted to receive the said extensions of the back of the box, having openings in its back for the ends of the strap, and a screw-threaded opening between said ends of the strap, fastening devices upon said ends within said base-plate and an opening in the said extension, and a screw-bolt extending through said opening within the screw-threaded opening in the back of said hollow base-plate, as and for'the purpose described.

17. The combination with a letter-box, and its support, of a securing-strap, ahollow baseplate or casting secured to the ends of said strap, and an extension from the back of said box within the hollow casting, and a screwbolt extending through said extension from within the letter-box into the said casting, as and for thepurpose described.

18. The combination with a letter-box and its'support, of a strap for securing the letterbox to the support, a hollow base-plate or casting having openings on the back portion for the ends of the strap, and fastening devices upon said ends, and a screw for securingthe back of the letter-box to the casting from within the box, as described.

19. The combination with a street letterbox, of a lock-shield, said shield being provided with a hinge so adjusted with reference tothe weight of the shield and center of gravity that when the shield is raised for the purpose ofoperating the lock, the shield, by its own gravity, stands up clear of the lock, substantially as and for the purpose described. zoo

20. In combination with a letter-box, a lockshield normally covering the lock, hinged above the lock, and a water-shedding plate between the0 hinge and the lock, substantially as and for the. purpose described. v

21.. In combination with a letter-box, of a lock-shield E, providedwith a water-shedding plate e substantially as and for the purpose described.

22. In combination with a letter-box prono vided with a curved extension a a lockshield hinged above said extension and provided with a water-shedding plate e extending over the lock and underneath said extension a, substantially as and for the purpose I: 5 described.

DAVID C. MOOARROLIL. RICHARD M. SEIBEL. 

